How to Photograph the Northern Lights (For Beginners)

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a camera roll full of faded blurry low-quality night shots. I’ve always found night photography so frustrating! But, when I booked my trip to Norway there was no way I was going to miss out on capturing the Northern Lights so I decided to finally figure it out.

The good news is that you don’t need a fancy camera to photograph the Northern Lights. Whether you’re using your phone, a GoPro, or any camera with a manual setting, here’s how to photograph the Northern Lights.

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Nighttime Photography Basics

For photographing the Northern Lights or just trying to capture the night sky, you need to use a technique called long exposure. In simple terms, this means that the shutter of the camera stays open for longer, letting more light in. Instead of snapping a photo in a tiny fraction of a second, you will need to use a shutter speed of 10 or more seconds. This slower shutter speed means that you have to stay completely still to prevent the image from being blurry. Just the motion of pressing the shutter release button on the camera can cause the camera to move enough that the image will be blurry.

Avoid blurry nighttime photos by using:

A tripod.

A 2-3 second delay timer on your camera.

A remote or app synced with your camera.

Your mad ninja skills to hold completely still for the entire exposure.

All of the above.

Pro Tip: Battery life is much shorter in cold weather. Bring a power pack and extra batteries so you don’t run out of juice!

How To Choose a Tripod

Choosing a tripod is a delicate balance of weight, sturdiness, size, and functionality. You want it to be lightweight, but if it’s too light, it’ll blow over in the wind (and potentially damage your camera). I prefer between 1-1/2 to 3 pounds in weight. When it comes to size, I look for tripods that easily fit into my daypack. Check to see how much weight the tripod can hold (usually listed in specifications) and whether it has a center column and brace. This provides added support to the legs of the tripod. Lastly, make sure that the tripod mount will fit your camera. For instance, a GoPro requires a different mount than a mirrorless camera that has a screw fitting.

Specific tripods are highlighted in each section, but keep these factors in mind when making your selection. Note that many tripods include a Bluetooth remote control.

Photographing the Northern Lights With a Phone Camera

With a few settings adjustments and the use of an app, you’ll be able to photograph the Northern Lights easily on your phone.

Recommended Gear

If you don’t already have one, a phone tripod is a great investment for any travel photographer. I wouldn’t say one is required to capture the Northern Lights, but I strongly recommend having one even for your phone camera. Personally, I prefer phone tripods with flexible legs like this one so that you can adjust to any surface even if it’s uneven.

If you want a great multi-purpose tripod this is a great option. It includes adapters for your phone, GoPro and digital camera as well as a remote control! This tripod offers more height, crossbars for stability and a remote control.

Phone Settings

An alternative to purchasing a remote control, is to use the delay timer on your phone camera. From the camera screen, look for the symbol that looks like a clock and adjust to anywhere from 2-10 seconds. Once this is done, just tap the phone’s shutter release button and the timer will countdown before taking the photo. The delay allows the camera to stabilize before snapping the photo, eliminating the blur.

Apps

There are several apps available for photographing the Northern Lights. With all of these, you’ll get the best results when used with a tripod.

I used the Northern Lights Photo Taker for iOS, which is $0.99 in the App Store. The interface is super easy. If the Northern Lights are faint or weak, use the “weak” setting which will let more light in with a longer shutter speed. Alternatively, when the Northern Lights are bright in the sky, use the “strong” setting. If you’re feeling adventurous, this app also has the capability to do some custom settings.

The Cortex Camera app works on iOS and Android, for $2.99 in the App Store. This app has a few more settings for low light situations, indoor or outdoor. It’s a great option if you want to use it for more than just the Northern Lights.

For a midrange option, try NightCap Camera for iOS devices, for $1.99 in the App Store. This app has several features for low light, night, video or timelapse. For photographing the Northern Lights, I recommend using the “Stars” mode.

This photo was taken with the Northern Lights Photo Taker app without a tripod. Photo cred: @tatilondono

Photographing the Northern Lights With a GoPro

There are two options for photographing the Northern Lights with a GoPro.

Single Photo

This will take one photo for each click of the button. Within the single photo menu, select the night setting. Under megapixels, use the highest option with a wide angle (12MP/ Wide). Start with the shutter at 20 seconds, but adjust as needed. If the test photo is too dark, increase this, and if the photo is too light, decrease this setting.

Timelapse Photo

This will continue to take photos after you click the button until you press the button a second time to stop it. Within the timelapse menu, select the night lapse setting. Again select the highest megapixels with a wide angle and start with a shutter speed of 20 seconds. Adjust the shutter speed the same way you would in the single photo. The interval is how often it will continue to take photos. I recommend starting with 1 or 2 minutes.

One word of caution on timelapse is that this can run down your battery quickly, especially in cold weather.

Photographing the Northern Lights With a Mirrorless or DSLR

To photograph the Northern Lights with a mirrorless or DSLR camera, there are a series of settings to adjust. Test these out before you go chasing the Northern Lights. All of these photos were taken with an Olympus OMD EM-10 Mark ii mirrorless camera with the standard 14-42mm lens using this tripod. But, you can expect similar results from any camera with a manual setting.

Camera Settings

Turn camera to “manual” mode. This is usually represented by an “M”, but check your camera manual for guidance.

Check to make sure your lens is in manual mode as well. If your lens is detachable, check the outside of the lens for a button to switch to manual.

Turn the flash off.

Drop your aperture down as low as it will go, probably around f3. This is the f-number often displayed on the screen. Both my Canon and Olympus adjust using a knob on the top of the camera, though sometimes it’s a rotating wheel on the back of the camera body.

Adjust your ISO between 800 and 1600. I used 800 while shooting the Northern Lights and had success. Higher ISO’s can come with lower quality photos, so if you’re closer to 1600 and not pleased with the quality, drop this down closer to 800.

Adjust your shutter speed to start at 25 seconds (sometimes displayed on the screen as 25″). This is how long the shutter stays open. The longer this is, the more light the camera will let in, which results in brighter stars and lights. I kept mine between 15-30 seconds when photographing the Northern Lights.

Set the delay timer or use a remote control to eliminate blur. I used a 2 second delay timer so when I pushed the shutter release button, it would wait 2 seconds and then open the shutter for however long I set the shutter speed. If you have a remote control, skip the self-timer and use that instead. Alternatively, some cameras have an app that you can use as a remote control from your phone.

Set your camera to manual focus (MF), which is different from manual mode. This is the trickiest part because most of us are used to shooting on auto-focus. At night auto-focus has trouble finding something to focus on in the darkness. Practice manually adjusting the focus until you get a clear image. This may take several shots. I got super frustrated with this and switched to the single auto-focus (“S-AF”) setting. This works great if there is some light and an object for your camera to focus on in the foreground . In the absence of that, be patient and keep adjusting the manual focus. Definitely practice this before the Northern Lights start dancing across the sky.

Troubleshooting

Inevitably, the settings won’t be perfect on the first try. Here are some simple adjustments to try.

If the photo is too grainy or low quality, adjust the ISO down. This will also make the photo less bright.

If the photo is too dark, try increasing the number of seconds the shutter is open. If you’re at 25 seconds (or 25″), adjust to 30 seconds (or 30″). Test and adjust as needed.

If the photo is blurry, use the flashlight on your phone to find something to manually focus on. The light from the flashlight helps the camera “see” something to focus on. Once you’ve focused, turn off the flashlight and try again.

But What If I Wanna Be In the Photo?

If you aren’t in the photo, did you even see the Northern Lights? To capture yourself in the photo there are two tricks you can try. First, since it’s a long exposure, you need to stay absolutely still the entire time the shutter is open to get a crisp shot. Second, ask someone to hold a cell phone flashlight in front of you for a second or two. The long exposure will capture the light on your face, making you more visible with the Northern Lights dancing behind you.

Photographing the Northern Lights (For Beginners)

Like I said, you don’t need to be a professional photographer to capture the Northern Lights. With these tips, you’ll be photographing the Northern Lights like a pro!

Wow this is so helpful! I am in that category of people with tons of low-quality, blurry night shots. I’m heading to Norway in a month, and while I don’t think I’ll see the northern lights this visit, you never know! I’ll be saving this for the day I do, though.

I assumed I would have to buy some special, really expensive camera to improve my night shots. So I’m so glad that these techniques work with any camera or phone. I’m definitely going to try this long exposure technique and pick up a tripod!

I’ve always wondered how people get such beautiful shots of the Northern Lights, I’m heading to Iceland soon with my new mirrorless camera and with these tips, if I see the lights I should be all set to get some great shots myself! Thanks for sharing 🙂

You’re welcome! You should be all set with these tips. If you can, test out the settings once before you go so that you’re not flustered when the beautiful Lights show up 🙂 Have a great time in Iceland!

Great guide! I had no idea they had apps for this, but it really shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does! I was able to photograph the lights in Sweden but didn’t have a remote and so many photos came out blurry just by pushing the button myself.

Thanks! I was also surprised how many app options there are. Camera phones have come such a long way 🙂 Definitely try the delay timer next time and just set your phone down on the ground to hold it steady!

I’m slightly jealous as North Finland looks amazing! I was kicking myself for forgetting my phone tripod so that I could capture them with my phone but did manage a few just holding it super still. Others that I traveled with though had a lot of success with a phone tripod plus the Northern Lights Photo Taker app. Hope these tips help you capture them next time 🙂

About Me

Hey there! Here’s a bit about me - I’m a thirty something girl from a huge family in the Midwest USA. At just nine years old, I had the opportunity to have a homestay experience in Japan. It was this experience that instilled in me a curiosity about people and their stories. I have a passion for photography. I travel simply, to off the beaten path places usually with nothing but my camera and a carry-on. Whether you have the means to travel yourself or not, I hope that my stories inspire you to understand others, appreciate the small things and maybe help plan an adventure. Join me as I explore this big wild world!